Babysteps
by DarkElements10
Summary: -SHORT STORY- Carlos and Stephanie have a great, loving relationship. They know when to give each other space, and they hardly have any arguments. But when something happens that changes their lives forever Carlos is going to have to work with growing up too fast or turning and running from his problems. Carphanie. For Baxxie.
1. Chapter 1

**Babysteps**

**By: Riley**

**Summary**** -****-SHORT STORY- Carlos and Stephanie have a great, loving relationship. They know when to give each other space, and they hardly have any arguments. But when something happens that changes their lives forever Carlos is going to have to work with growing up too fast or turning and running from his problems. Carphanie.**

**This story is dedicated to the author Baxxie.**

* * *

**.:Prologue:.**

* * *

Carlos twirled the cardboard box in his hands as he paced back and forth across the carpet in Stephanie's apartment. He tried not to look down at the picture on the box that contained the thing. The thing that would change our lives forever, depending on what it read.

Stephanie, at first, had refused to read it. Now she was sitting on the couch, twirling a piece of her long brown hair around her finger as she stared off into space. Her hazel eyes would dart over to him every now and then, but she mostly just stared into space.

Carlos stopped pacing and looked over at her again. Stephanie looked up at him. Her eyes that had appeared vacant suddenly changed as if her façade had cracked.

Lost.

Despite their circumstance, Carlos gave her a reassuring smile. But in his head, he knew that things possibly weren't going to be smiling about. They were both eighteen years old, both in the prime of their careers. And the key to their careers, whether it would suffer or thrive, was sitting in the bathroom. While they hadn't talked about the possibilities, they both knew that they were, in a nutshell, screwed. They weren't ready for their lives to change.

Not this way.

What would their friends say?

Their parents?

Carlos watched as Stephanie ran her hands over her face, before looking at her watch. She seemed to stare at her watch for a few hours, but it was only a few seconds. Slowly, she lifted herself off of the couch and walked into the bathroom. The light turned on, Carlos knew that she was at the sink at that moment.

"What does it say?" Carlos asked. His voice cracked with nervousness. He cleared his throat as he walked over to the bathroom and stood in the doorway. He watched his girlfriend as she stared at the test in her hands. "What does it say?" he repeated.

"We're having a baby," it finally came out of Stephanie's mouth. She turned towards Carlos and rested her head against his chest. "What are we going to do?"

Carlos wrapped his arms around her, gently rocking her back and forth, "We'll figure it out."

* * *

**A/N: **Including the prologue/epilogue this story will be up to about 15 chapters long. (It's labeled a short story because my stories usually have a 20 chapter minimum, but it might get longer). I hope you guys like it so far. Let me know what you think, constructive criticism is welcome.

Also, my characters are NOT in this story. The only OCs that are in this are doctors and the like.

Cheers,

-Riles


	2. Chapter 2

**.:Chapter One:.**

* * *

Carlos muttered something about having to go back to his apartment. Stephanie nodded, quiet as well. The two had been lying on the couch, her in his arms, ever since they had read the results. That had been two hours ago. They had two hours to let everything sink in.

It still hit her hard whenever she thought about it.

She was pregnant, with Carlos's baby. It wasn't that she didn't love him, she loved him with all of her heart, but she wasn't sure if they were ready for what was to come. At this moment she knew that they weren't. Stephanie sat up and pushed her long hair out of her face, allowing Carlos to get off of the couch. He bent down and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead before giving her a wave, leaving the apartment.

Stephanie watched him as he left her apartment. For a few moments, she sat there in silence; once again, staring at nothing .She then squeezed her eyes shut. It was a hopeless thought, but what if she could block it out? Block the reality that was going on with them right then. Then things would be ok. Then they could go back to the way things were, two eighteen year olds that hung out with each other and their friends while selflessly supporting each other in their careers. How hard could that be?

When she opened her eyes, she reached her hands up to her face and realized that she had been crying. A part of her knew what was going to happen, even if the most rational part didn't, at least not at that moment. She couldn't have an abortion; she knew that, she was strongly against it. She was going to have that baby; she just hoped that Carlos would be with her every step of the way to help her with it. It wouldn't be fair…to either of them, if he didn't. But she didn't want to force him into it either. The shock of everything fell onto her at that one moment as she pictured where Carlos was at that moment, what he was doing.

Tears welled up in her eyes and her breathing started to quicken. She knew exactly where he was at that moment. Right then he was walking down the hallways. With each and every step he took, he was getting further away from her. He was had to have still been thinking about what was going on between the two of them, what he was going to tell his friends when he got back. _If _he was going to tell his friends. Everyone was going to know eventually, but now wasn't the time. In a few moments he would be at the elevator, ready to push the button so the elevator could get to his floor, so he could get back to his apartment. By the time he reached his apartment, it would be too late for her to try and catch him.

Stephanie leapt to her feet and raced to the door to her apartment. She skidded to a quick stop before she ran smack into the door and flung it open, before racing towards the elevator, her long hair flowing behind her as she ran. As she turned the corner, she could see the elevator and knew that he would be there. She rushed through the hallway quickly, past the paintings and the few tables with plants sitting on top for the little decoration that Bitters could afford. They passed by her in a blur as she ran Then she stopped. The elevator doors had already closed.

She was too late.

Stephanie slowly walked over to the elevator doors. She looked at them; the doors reflected her image back at her. Her hair was long and wavy, beautiful like always. But her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks wet. Anyone that looked at her could easily see that something was wrong. There was no denying that. But no one could fathom the demons that she was dealing with.

Stephanie whispered Carlos's name at the closed doors. She expected him to pop up behind her and yell 'surprise' it would be such a Carlos thing to do. But she knew he wasn't going to be there. They both needed some space, some time to themselves.

He was going to be in there, she knew it. He'd come back. He had to.

Stephanie collapsed to the floor. Her sobs quickly turned to complete wails of despair, frustration, and fear. Anyone could have come up to her and held her in their arms and said that everything was going to be ok.

But she wouldn't believe any of them.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this was a short beginning chapter, I wanted to show what Stephanie was feeling before I got to the Carlos angst. That's the main point of the story of course. I hope that you guys liked it. Thanks to _KendallCoverGirl804, winterschild11, BookWorkKendall, chocolate-colombo, and paulag._2011 for reviewing.

Don't worry, like I said, this and the prologue/epilogue are the only short chapters. They're longer after this one.

Cheers,

-Riles


	3. Chapter 3

**.:Chapter Two:.**

* * *

Stephanie was three months pregnant and she was at the very early stages of starting to show. Well, Carlos thought so, anyway. But then again, his brain was so wired over the fact that she was pregnant that he could have been imagining things.

Or he wasn't getting enough sleep. That was possible; he hadn't had a good night's rest until the two of them found out that they were going to be parents. When they had first discovered that Stephanie was pregnant, they had talked about the possibility of her getting an abortion and they both decided that it wasn't what they wanted. There were too many risks and complications that could get in the way. Now the only risk or complication that they had to deal with now was…telling everyone…

* * *

"Carlos!"

Carlos looked up from his plate of pancakes and into Mrs. Knight's face. He noticed her expression of concern, but tried not to let it bother him too much. He gave her a sheepish smile before picking up his fork and cutting into his fluffy breakfast.

"Are you ok?" Mrs. Knight wasn't going to let him off the hook. It was the first time that Carlos had ever just stared at his plate of food _without _taking a bite first. And being someone that had once eaten part of a sandwich that he had found in a dumpster, when he was being chased by the girl's field hockey team, it was weird. "You look like something's bothering you, honey."

Carlos sat up straight and shook his head, mustering up the best smile that he could. He could feel Kendall, Logan, James, and Katie's eyes all on him. "I'm fine, Mama Knight." He replied with enthusiasm. "I'm just a little tired; I didn't get much sleep last night."

James snorted as he picked up the bottle of syrup and dumped it over his pancakes. "You were snoring like a monster truck last night," he licked a blob of syrup off of his finger. "And I mean, all night long."

Carlos's upper lip curled, but he didn't say anything in reply. He looked at his watch, wondering if he could see Stephanie before class started. He wondered how she was doing. He read that by month three, that was when you started to get all of the effects of the increase in hormones; irritability, morning sickness, breast tenderness, cravings…He gave a half smile. _The cravings might not be a bad thing. _

"Whatever dude," he said finally. "It's not like it's worse than the nightly beauty routine you go through." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"It _is_ kind of weird, dude." Kendall agreed. "I mean, I already thought that you were strange for carrying so much stuff in your pockets that could potentially help you with stardom. But even I draw the line at your routine."

"Hey, it's hard work to have skin as flawless as this." James said and then lightly ran a hand over his cheeks.

"I always knew that you embraced your feminine side, but this is ridiculous." Katie teased from Carlos's other side. She, Kendall, and Logan burst out laughing as James rolled his eyes and went back to eating his breakfast.

Carlos just sighed and poked at his plate with his fork. He could feel Mrs. Knight's eyes on him once more, but before she could say anything, he pushed back his seat and got up; the screeching of his chair grabbing everyone's attention. "Sorry," he apologized. He walked over to the trashcan and scraped his food in before walking the plate over to the sink to rinse it. "But I have to go and meet Stephanie before class starts."

He turned and went into his room. But instead of getting his backpack, he leaned against the doorframe and listened as the others started to talk about him.

"I'm really worried about him," Mrs. Knight said. "He's been more preoccupied than usual. His grades are starting to slip and he doesn't focus as much as usual."

"Yeah," now it was Logan speaking. "He hasn't been doing well at the studio either. Gustavo is starting to get really mad at him. Kelly tries to talk to him, but Carlos just sits there and nods. Half of the time I'm sure that he's not even listening. I mean, not that he listened much before, but you could always count on Carlos to take into considering what you said whenever someone brings something up to him."

"I'm sure he's fine," Kendall said firmly. "Maybe he's gotten some bad news from his family, or maybe he and Stephanie are having a fight. It's not really any of our business until he wants to talk to us about it." Carlos could hear clattering. "Could I have some more pancakes, mom?"

"How can you sit there and not be worried, Big Brother?" Katie asked.

"I'm not worried because this is Carlos," Kendall replied. "If there was something bothering him, he would tell us. If he doesn't, then there's not. He'll bounce back soon. If he doesn't, then we can ask him what's going on. You know that he's the one that is really big about his privacy."

"Yeah, you're right." Katie agreed.

Carlos turned and started to gather his schoolwork together, shoving it into his backpack. He zipped his bag shut and hoisted it over his shoulders. He then reached under his bed and pulled out the stuffy puppy that each of the boys had gotten from their photo shoot and studied it for a few moments. He then opened his backpack and shoved the stuffy puppy inside before zipping it back up. He put his, now full, backpack on his back and slid his phone into his jeans pocket before walking out of the room as fast as he could.

"I'm going to go meet Steph now," he said, just as fast as he walked across the apartment. "I'll see you guys in class."

"Carlos, wait!" Logan suddenly called after him.

"Can't," Carlos darted out the door and started to close it behind him. "I'm going to be late." He closed the door; but just before it shut completely, he heard Logan tell him that he had forgotten his helmet.

* * *

Carlos paced back and forth outside of the elevator, waiting for Stephanie to appear. Every time someone would come out, he would eagerly glance at the doors, and then visibly deflate when it wasn't her. But when she finally did appear behind the opening doors, she looked at him as if she didn't recognize him, and then kept walking to the classroom. Carlos hurried after her. When he caught up to her, he grabbed onto the sleeve of her sweatshirt, causing her to stop. She had been wearing baggy clothes lately, he noticed it, so he was sure that Jo and Camille, Kendall's and Logan's girlfriends, had noticed it as well. He hoped that no one asked her about it, how could you make up an excuse as to why you're wearing a sweatshirt in 90 degree heat?

"Hey Steph," he greeted her. "How are you doing today?"

"I threw up twice," Stephanie said frankly. "Other than that, I'm fine." She took a deep breath, moving her dark brown hair from her hazel eyes. "Listen, Carlos, I know that the last thing that you want to be is tied down-"

"What?" Carlos interrupted, confused.

"I mean," Stephanie paused. "I'm sure that you don't want to have to worry about me and the…baby," she lightly rested her hands on her stomach. I don't even know how we're going to support it, or do anything-"

"Steph," Carlos interrupted her, his eyes searching hers. "Are you saying that you want to break up with me?" Stephanie shrugged, looking back at him. "Oh," he suddenly got it. "No, you thought that I was going to break up with you. Why would you think that I would do something like that?"

"I've heard…many stories where a couple has gotten pregnant and the guy has fun off," Stephanie shrugged again. "I figured…I'd feel less guilty if I said you could do whatever you wanted, rather than worrying about being stuck with me." She looked at her feet as she shuffled them. "Or something, like that."

"Steph," Carlos reached out and placed his hand on her cheek, lightly rubbing it with his thumb. "I would neverdo that. I'm going to be here to help you, every step of the way." He said sincerely, looking right into her eyes. "I promise. I'm always going to be there for you whenever you need it. If…well, when you tell your Dad or your mom or your brother, I'll be there for moral support."

"What about Mrs. Knight?" Stephanie asked. "Or your mom?"

"I don't think they're going to like it," Carlos said honestly. "But that doesn't mean-"

"No," Stephanie cut in, laughing lightly. That was something that she always loved about Carlos; if he didn't get what you were saying right away, it didn't necessarily mean that he was slow. He was just thinking of other people, or he was one step ahead of what you were thinking. "I mean, when are _you_ going to tell them?"

"When the time is right," Now it was Carlos's turn to shrug. "I mean, we said that we weren't going to tell the others, Kendall and Jo and them until we were sure that nothing was wrong." He reminded her.

Stephanie nodded.

Carlos nodded as well.

"So," he took a step forward and rested his forehead against hers, breathing in her scent. "Does that mean that we're going to be ok?" He asked.

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his waist. "As well as we can be, I suppose." She replied, resting her head on his shoulder. "We're going to be going through a lot, you know." She reminded him. "And there are our fans, what's going to happen with them? And with your music and everything? What if you have to go on tour?"

"Steph, we'll figure it out when we get to it." Carlos said patiently. But he was trying to reassure himself on that part. He _wasn't_ sure if they could figure everything out. He _wasn't_ sure that everything was going to be ok. But he hoped that he could keep Stephanie from getting so scared, at least for the time being. "I promise." He added.

Stephanie pulled her head back and smiled up at him. Carlos smiled back at her and gave her a kiss before wrapping his arms around her in a hug, enjoying the way that she fit right against his body. They weren't going to fit like that again for a while. Carlos buried his face in her hair, wanting to hold onto that one moment. But Bitters ruined it by walking by and demanding that they get to class, as well as reminding them of the 'No PDA in the lobby' rule that he had implemented the month before after Logan and Camille got a little too 'friendly' after their date.

Stephanie laughed, pulling away from Carlos. She stood back, lightly poking him in the stomach with her index fingers. "Are you sure?" she asked him.

"I am," Carlos replied. "Oh and here's the first gift that we can give," he said and then slid his backpack off of one shoulder. He unzipped it and produced his stuffy puppy. "Or you can have it, maybe I can spray it with my cologne and you can sleep with it if I'm not around."

"I love it Carlos, thanks." Stephanie took the stuff puppy and gave it a squeeze. She looked over her shoulder before moving back into Carlos and giving him another kiss. "C'mon, let's go to class." She said and grabbed his hand, walking him over to the room. She let go of his hand and walked over to her desk as they entered the classroom.

Carlos started to follow after her, but he found that no matter how hard he tried to walk forwards, he wasn't going anywhere. Carlos craned his head around and saw that James had a tight grip on his backpack. He was then dragged backwards out of the classroom.

"Guys, this is ridiculous," Kendall said as James turned Carlos around.

"What's going on?" Carlos asked as he looked at them.

"That's what we want to know," James said as he let go of Carlos. "We know that something is bothering you and we want to know what it is."

Carlos felt his annoyance spike almost immediately. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said shortly.

"Yes, you do." James insisted. "I've been watching you every night when you thought that I was asleep," he said. "And you've been either sleeping restlessly or have a good night's sleep. And then there's the constant phone calls, you're always with Stephanie, and you haven't been concentrating at all."

"Is there a problem with wanting to see my girlfriend?" Carlos demanded.

"Jo and Camille know that there's something going on with her, too." Logan continued.

"They don't _know_ anything." Kendall continued.

"Carlos," Logan said firmly. "We want to know what's going on and we want to know now."

Carlos looked at his three best friends as if he was looking right through them. His brown eyes, which were normally filled with happiness and excitement, were filled with fear.

Nothing but complete and total fear.

Carlos took a deep breath.

"Fine," he whispered. "You want to know what's going on." He took a deep breath and finally said the words out loud. "Steph's pregnant."

* * *

**A/N: **So if you're confused, the first chapter was a while before this chapter happened. So, like I said, Stephanie is three months pregnant here, so she and Carlos are trying to figure out what to do; with each other, telling people, and getting the things needs for the baby. I hope that you guys liked it. Thanks to _xsilentlyxscreamingx, paula, BTR-Fan-4Lyfe, KendallsCoverGirl804, shotinthedark, and LogieLuvr914_ for reviewing.

Also, to those being affected by the Hurricane, please stay safe. (I'm being affected by it, likely my university will lose power, may have classes cancelled tomorrow).

Cheers,

-Riles


	4. Chapter 4

**.:Chapter Three:.**

* * *

"P-pregnant?" Logan repeated, his eyes growing wide.

"Like," James placed his hands on his stomach and then moved them out. "_Pregnant _pregnant?"

Carlos resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't even know why he was so annoyed with them wanting to know what was up. He would be the same way if it one of the other guys were in his position. But they weren't, he was. He had to deal with this, because he was partially to blame.

"Yes," Carlos said calmly. "As in, six months, she's going to have a baby."

"Wait, she's three months pregnant?" Kendall finally found his voice. Carlos was scared to look at him; scared that his 'leader' was going to be disappointed in him. But when he _did_ look at Kendall, he saw nothing but compassion in his eyes and that made Carlos less scared. Kendall was usually willing to help him with whatever problem he had and this was going to be no different.

"Yeah," Carlos said with a nod. "We found that out when we went to the doctor to be completely sure." He ran his hands through his hair. "Sorry, I know that this is all a big shock. But Steph, after some suspicion, took a pregnancy test. After that, we went to the doctor to be sure and she was. We didn't tell anyone because we didn't want to say it, and then have her potentially lose the baby and have all of that running around…" He trailed off, suddenly tired.

"So, wait a minute," James slowly started to grin. He raised and lowered his eyebrows rapidly. "If Steph's three months pregnant, when did you guys…"

Carlos's upper lip curled for a fraction for a second. "That's not really any of your business." He said quickly. He then lowered his voice. "But I'm going to be there for Steph every step of the way. We're going to have this baby together and then-"

"Carlos," Logan interrupted. "Have you thought of the other options that you have?"

"She's not going to have an abortion," Carlos said quickly.

"I didn't mean that," Logan held up a hand. "I mean adoption. Have you two thought about whether or not you'll put your baby up for adoption?"

"We…" Carlos ran a hand over his face. "We haven't talked about that yet, I've been a bit preoccupied with the news and then Steph's starting to show and she needs bigger clothes, and we're worried about our fans and…yeah."

"How are you going to pay for the food for the baby and the clothes?" Logan asked.

Carlos was annoyed again. "What? Do you think I can't handle it?"

"I just want to be sure that you know what you're getting into." Logan insisted.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Kendall asked, putting an arm around Logan's shoulders. He thought for a moment. "How many skips do you guys have left?" He asked all of a sudden. "For class?" he clarified. James said that he had two, Carlos had one, and Logan, with a hint of pride, said that he still had all of his left to be used whenever he didn't want to go to class. "I think we should skip today, if Miss. Collins asks, I'll give her an excuse but with what's going on. But for now, we need to talk."

He didn't wait for an answer, before turning on his heel and walking out of the lobby of the PalmWoods. James followed immediately after him. Logan and Carlos hesitated before they made their decisions. Carlos wasn't stupid; he could feel Logan's disapproval radiating from his body. He knew that Logan thought that he had just made the biggest mistake of his life and that he would have no way to fix it. Carlos watched as Logan finally sighed and walked out of the PalmWoods lobby.

Carlos twisted his mouth to the side and leaned back into the doorway of the classroom. He glanced over at Miss. Collins, who was writing something on the board at the front and then turned back to Stephanie, lightly waving his hand. Jo, who was sitting beside her, noticed and nudged Stephanie on the side, getting her attention. Carlos held up this thumbs and wiggled them back and forth, letting her know that he would text her later.

Stephanie nodded back and Carlos turned and hurried out the front of the PalmWoods to catch up to his friends.

* * *

"Ok, let's go through what's happening here," Kendall said, pushing his soda away from him. He leaned back against the backrest of his chair and crossed his legs. He rested his hands on his stomach. "You and Stephanie are pregnant."

Carlos loudly shushed him, his eyes darting around the restaurant. The four had left the PalmWoods and decided that they were going to go to the beach. Instead of having fun like they usually would if they skipped (of course Logan wouldn't join them as he hated the idea of ditching school) they were going to talk about how Carlos's life was going to change. And it was going to change fast in the upcoming weeks, let alone the upcoming months. They took the hour long bus ride to get there (as Logan still didn't have his license yet) and then decided to go to a seaside restaurant to get something to drink and to talk about what they were going to do. There was Mrs. Knight and Katie, whom he still had to tell, Gustavo and Kelly, _his_ parents, _her_ parents, the fans…Then there was the baby supplies that he needed to get and working around his schedule at Rocque Records.

Just the thought of it was making him sick.

"I'm sure we're all aware of that at his point," Logan said. His tone held an air of…something. Carlos couldn't place it exactly. He watched as Logan stirred his soda with his straw. He was looking everywhere but at Carlos.

"And in the next few months, Stephanie is really going to start to show," Kendall continued, as if he didn't hear Logan at all. "Which means that by that time, everyone at the PalmWoods is gonna know, because no one can keep a secret, especially one that big for that long."

"That and if someone sees that she's acting a bit different, then they're just going to start a rumor," James pointed out. "Which is just as bad as them actually knowing straight from them."

"Good point," Kendall mused. "So, we should assume that at this point, everyone's gonna find out soon." He made a face. "At this point, I think that's the thing that you have to really focus on. Telling everyone…" he sucked in a sharp breath. "And our fans."

"We get hate for changing our hairstyle," Logan remarked. "I don't think that it's going to make a difference if he announces that he got Stephanie knocked up."

Carlos let out a low growl before he could stop himself. He was already so sick and tired of Logan's self-righteous attitude. Weren't they best friends? Weren't they supposed to help each other at a time like this? Carlos could feel his anger rise so quickly that he knew that he wasn't going to be able to stop himself. He had to confront Logan, that way; he would at least get everything out in the open.

"So why don't you go right on and tell me how much of an idiot you think I am?" He demanded, keeping his eyes on Logan. "I can tell that's what you think." Logan stayed silent. "Well, I'm _not_ ok. I knew the risks that we were taking when we…you know." His eyes shifted around once more, hoping that no one that was a fan was listening; hoping that no one would spread it around before they were ready. "But I _love_ Stephanie and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. We were careful, I made sure that everything was protected, but it happened anyway. And now it's too late to do anything about it, except wait for it to happen." He clenched his hands into fists.

"Now, you can either _shut up_ or you can help me try and figure out what to do." Carlos said a little calmer that time.

James's eyes were wide. He had never seen Carlos go off the deep-end like that before. He knew that he was really upset and that Logan wasn't helping him, but still. He looked over at Kendall, who was still sitting in his seat, calmly. He hadn't moved even at Carlos's sudden outburst. He just looked like the picture of perfection.

And that worried James a little.

"I was just making sure that you knew how serious this is," Logan said, sitting up straight.

"No," Carlos retorted. "What you were and are doing is taking snide little swipes at me."

Logan nodded.

Silence fell over the table again.

Carlos put his face in his hands, his mind racing at a mile a minute. He was genuinely sorry for snapping at Logan like that. He knew that Logan didn't take any offense to it, they were best friends, brothers from other mothers; he _couldn't_ take offense. But Carlos still felt bad for it anyway. He was taking his frustration out on Logan and he knew it. _Why did this have to happen to me? _He hated himself as soon as the words popped into his head. There wasn't much he could do about it now. And he wasn't lying when he said that he loved Stephanie, he truly did. Even if he was only 18 years old, he knew that he was only going to love her for the rest of his life.

But still…to go and screw it up like this…

Carlos felt tears come to his eyes. He wasn't worried about what was going on with him anymore, he was worried about Stephanie. What would happen to her? Would her father kick her out? Would she be forbidden to see Carlos? Would she be forced into getting an abortion? He quickly wiped the tears away.

The worst part was the not knowing.

"Carlos," James said gently, getting his friend's attention. "If you guys finally do decide to keep the baby, I'll help in any way that I can." He then gave a short laugh. "I can be Uncle James even before it's born."

Carlos managed a small smile.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"No problem," James smiled back. He looked at his watch. "Hey, we better get going, so we can tell Miss. Collins why we missed class." He looked over at Kendall. "I'm sure that we wouldn't want her to call Mama Knight or the shit will really hit the fan."

"Really," Kendall agreed. He stood up before pulling his wallet out of his pocket to pay for their drinks.

"Kendall, wait," Carlos grabbed onto Kendall's arm, stopping him. Kendall tilted his head down slightly, to look at his best friend. Carlos licked his lips. "I get that Logan is mad. I get that James isn't really sure how this is going to affect him. But I know that you understand the problems with what's going on, so…why aren't you upset?"

"Honestly?" Kendall asked. Carlos nodded. "Because I know that people make mistakes," he said. "And I know that you're being a man and owning up to yours and taking responsibility for it." He clapped Carlos on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

Carlos nodded.

He looked at his feet.

He knew he was doing the right thing, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that he was letting everyone down.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone that's continued to review. I've changed the premise to this story a bit, it's still gonna be about 15 chapters long, but instead of showing everything when it comes to pregnancy, I'm probably gonna show everyone finding out, the ramifications of that, and then when Steph goes into labor. I haven't completely decided yet.

Also, for shotinthedark, the only reason you didn't see Steph get up to the three months is because in the first three months of pregnancy, all you really get is throwing up and because she had missed her period (prompting her to take the test) that would have been around the first or second month of pregnancy. Also, the other reason is shown/said in this chapter.

Thanks to _shotinthedark, KendallsCoverGirl804, chocolate-colombo, and BTR-Fan-4Lyfe_ for reviewing.

What did you think of the guys' reaction? I think that I made Logan a bit OOC, but I felt that it worked for his character as well; that he would be disappointed in what's happening. I felt that Kendall and James would be more supportive, and Kendall's reasoning for being so quiet is shown in the next chapter.

So let me know what you guys thought.

Cheers,

-Riles


	5. Chapter 5

**.:Chapter Four:.**

* * *

Carlos tossed and turned, letting out small grunts of frustration every time he tried to get comfortable. Finally, he sat up and rested against the headboard of his bed. He turned his head, marveling at the fact that James was fast asleep without a care in the world. He bet Kendall and Logan was sleeping soundly as well. They weren't the ones that had to deal with his problem.

They said that they would help, well, James did, but he knew that for the most part they weren't going to be able to help him. He had to do it all on his own.

Carlos put his arms behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. He wondered what his parents would think. If they were in LA, instead of Mama Knight, he would have told them instantly. They would have known that something was wrong just by looking at him. He was sure that Mrs. Knight knew that something was wrong, but since she wasn't Carlos's mother, she wasn't going to pry. Part of him loved her for that, keeping his privacy, but another part wanted to yell at her. To say 'ask me what's going on, I know you know that something is wrong' just so he had an excuse to tell someone else.

They were going to have to tell her eventually and Gustavo and Kelly. But it would be better if they just started with their own parents, they knew that Gustavo would be _pissed_ so they were going to hold off on that as long as possible.

Carlos chuckled to himself at the thought of Gustavo screaming at him for getting his girlfriend pregnant. He could see Gustavo's face turning red, the veins popping out on his neck. It would probably send him to the hospital for his high blood pressure. It would be hysterical if it wasn't so serious.

Carlos sighed.

It was a secret he was going to have to keep.

He had too many secrets. They are not his; he was not the type to do anything that would need to be kept secret, but instead they are his friends' secrets. James had a habit of sneaking out to clubs, even after Mrs. Knight had forbid them to go to one. He said that he wanted to go and see what it was like, and he hadn't stopped going since. Kendall typically had a habit of sneaking in after curfew from being with Jo. Who knew what they were doing, Carlos didn't care; he just hoped that they wouldn't end up in the same situation he was. Logan…you would think that Logan was too nice, too sensible to do anything wrong, and for the most part he was. He wouldn't do anything that would cause anyone to look at him funny. But he still had a secret. For a project he tried to prove that he could hack into a government system, and he had succeeded, and every now and then he continued to do it. Just to prove that nothing was safe from a hacker, that's what he said anyway.

They had all told him these things, separately, and he had kept them quiet. The thing about Carlos though, the thing that made him different, is that he never tells secrets. And he never wondered if he should, because secrets are secrets are secrets and should not be told. Because he was told that it was the wrong thing to do.

But this time, it was the right thing to do.

_It's the right thing to do._

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it was a short chapter, I just needed to throw in some more angst for Carlos before I got to him and Stephanie telling their parents what was going on. I hope that you guys liked it anyway.

Thanks to _KendallsCoverGirl804, shotinthedark, BookWorkKendall, LogieLuvr914, and BTR-Fan-4Lyfe_ for reviewing.

Cheers,

-Riles


	6. Chapter 6

**.:Chapter Five:.**

* * *

It was raining.

It wasn't that much of a surprise. It just matched Stephanie's mood anyway. Not that she was particularly in a bad mood, she was just…anxious.

That was the right word.

She had the apartment to herself, she definitely needed that. Her father had said that he was going out to do…something, she wasn't even sure. When Mr. King had poked his head into his daughter's room to say where he was going, she was on the phone with Carlos, trying to figure out who they should tell first. They decided that they were going to tell Jo and Camille before they tried to tell the adults. It was the best thing to do, especially since Carlos already told Kendall, Logan, and James. It was probably hard for Kendall and Logan to keep the secret from their girlfriends, especially Logan to Camille, for a whole month. The fourth month of her pregnancy.

But it had to be done.

Stephanie felt badly for her father, he had left, all smiles, not knowing that his daughter wasn't the innocent girl that he thought she was. Well, he probably knew that she wasn't innocent; he was pretty upset when he found out that she was the one behind the 'PalmWoods Ghost' fiasco. She was grounded for a week for using other people. But he had still congratulated her for trying to go for her dream, and to not let anyone or anything get in her way.

Stephanie shook her head as another wave of nausea washed over her. She instinctively moved her hands to her stomach, which had started to harden. She heard that your stomach got hard when you were with child, to protect it, she supposed. She didn't know it was true though. It was still so strange to her, the idea of her carrying a baby inside her; she knew that's what she wanted later in life. But now that it was happening…it was more shocking than scary.

Stephanie sighed as she leaned back on her bed, her hands still on top of her stomach, which was covered by a sweatshirt. She wasn't going to be able to wear clothes like that much longer. Four months pregnant and she was getting bigger by the day. She went to the gym as much as before, so that may have kept people from noticing. But she could tell that her face had gotten a bit fuller, her breasts had definitely gotten bigger, and she was starting to get cravings. Carlos was good to her whenever she would call him in the middle of the night to get her something. She would then sneak out and meet up with him so they could eat and talk together. She would go out herself, but she knew that her father would get suspicious, especially since he stayed up later than her. She could only leave when she was sure he was asleep.

Stephanie closed her eyes. Jo and Camille were coming over, so she could finally tell them what was going on. She would have someone else on her side, for support. If they decided to give her support. Frankly, she wouldn't blame either of them If they were disgusted by her and what was going on. If it weren't happening to her, she would probably feel the same way.

Before she knew it, she heard the door to her apartment open (the Kings never kept it locked) and then there was a knock on her door.

"Steph, it's us," Jo said.

"Come in, doors open," Stephanie sat up and gave her two best friends a smile as they entered the room.

"Sorry we're late," Jo apologized as she flopped down onto Stephanie's bed. "Filming took longer than I thought and I had to pick up Camille from the dentist." As soon as she finished, Camille jumped onto the other side of the bed, jostling the two girls. It seemed like she did it just to put an exclamation point at the end of Jo's explanation.

"No cavities!" Camille cheered, throwing her hands in the air.

"And that pretty much just means that you're going to be eating more candy than ever," Stephanie said. She laughed as Camille nodded eagerly.

Jo laughed as well, but then she turned serious, pushing her hair behind her ears. "I know that's not why you invited us over, Steph." She reached out and grabbed onto her friend's hand. "What's going on?" She looked over at Camille. "We're getting really worried about you."

Stephanie cringed.

"Yeah, you don't ever want to go to the mall anymore," Camille agreed. She looked serious. "Is it because of the time I worked on my audition at the mall and made a little kid cry? If so, I promise I won't do it again."

Jo and Stephanie laughed. Stephanie pushed her hair over her shoulders. "No, Camille, it's not because of that. That was actually pretty funny." She twisted her hands in her lap. "It's…kind of serious, actually."

"Well, whatever it is, you know we're here to help you, girl," Jo said gently.

"Yeah," Camille agreed.

"Oh gosh," Stephanie held her hands over her face. She took a few deep breaths before lifting her head and looking straight at Jo and Camille. She wanted to laugh. The looks on their faces were priceless. She would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. "Ok, well, lately…I hadn't been feeling great and I wasn't sure if there was anything wrong."

"Nothing's wrong is there?" Jo asked, immediately jumping to the wrong conclusion. "You're ok, right?"

"That really depends on your definition of OK," Stephanie drawled.

"Steph, you're scaring us," Camille said, her jaw trembling slightly. Her hand was shaking as well. Camille was a good actress, but she wasn't that good. She wasn't kidding.

"I took a pregnancy test," Stephanie blurted. "It came out positive. I'm pregnant."

There was a stunned silence. That was the _last_ thing that Stephanie wanted. All she ever heard now was silence. She hardly listened in school, when she and Carlos weren't talking about the baby, they were quiet. It was as if as soon as the baby was conceived, all of the fun that they used to have went flying out the window.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Camille suddenly asked.

Stephanie's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She flipped her hair over her shoulders again, but this time the movement was sharp and she nearly hit herself in the face because of the erratic hand movement. "Why would I like about something like that?" She demanded. "I'm not doing this for some sick joke; I'm telling you the truth."

"Is it Carlos's?" Jo then asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stephanie demanded. She was angry, it wasn't just her hormones. The questions that they were asking, it was putting her on edge. Part of her knew that they were on edge too, not thinking clearly because of the news. But come on. Stephanie was in love with Carlos. Deep down she knew that she was going to marry him.

Why would they doubt that?

"Of course it was," Stephanie continued, crossing her arms over her chest. "Who else would it be?" She gave a scornful bark of laughter. "James? I'm not a slut,"

"I didn't say you were," Jo said calmly. "I was just making sure that things were OK between you two. It's a weird situation, I just...I don't know…"

Camille spoke up again. "Do your parents know?"

Stephanie's anger ebbed away and humiliation filled her body as she shook her head. "No," she whispered. "No one knows. We wanted to tell you guys before we told everyone else." She paused, not sure how they were going to take the next part. "Carlos told the guys a month ago…but I had a hard time trying to tell you." She looked up again. "And you can't tell anyone! Not until Carlos and I tell."

Jo and Camille nodded. The two weren't even looking at each other or at Stephanie anymore. They were looking at different parts of Stephanie's room. She wasn't sure what made them shell-shocked, the news, or the fact that their boyfriends kept it from them for so long.

"Don't blame the guys," Stephanie said quickly. "Carlos and I made them promise not to tell. And it's not their news to tell, it's ours." She reached forward and grabbed onto Jo's and Camille's hands. "No one in my family knows and you cannot tell anyone," she repeated firmly.

"What would your parents do if they found out?" Camille asked. She held up her free hand when Stephanie gave her a funny look. "I don't mean that in a harsh way, like, you should tell them kind of way. I'm asking because I'm curious."

"I don't know," Stephanie admitted. "And that's the part t hat scares me the most." She started to cry. "I know that I have Carlos's support through this whole thing, and the guys. But I can't help but think…that my parents would hate me when they find out and I don't know if I can deal with that."

Jo and Camille shifted closer to Stephanie and wrapped their arms around her, holding her in between the two of them. "Steph you're not alone in this," Jo said, rubbing Stephanie's back. "I'm here."

"And so am I," Camille agreed.

Stephanie leaned her head on their shoulders, letting the silent tears fall down her cheeks.

She hoped that they were right.


	7. Chapter 7

**.:Chapter Six:.**

* * *

It was probably the most nervous that Carlos had felt in his entire life. He hadn't ever gotten this bad when he was waiting for a hockey game to start. With hockey, everything was direct. You either on won or lost, you either celebrated or moped, you were either happy and on an adrenaline high until the next game, or pissed off and wouldn't want to talk to anyone. At least during a hockey game Carlos could shove someone into the boards or smack them with his hockey stick if they were annoying him on the ice. But he couldn't do that to his mother, Mrs. Knight, Kelly, or Mr. and Mrs. King. He could probably do it to Gustavo, but then that would be like having a death wish.

So in essence, he was stuck.

Carlos sighed and rolled onto his side, moving his pillow over his head. In an hour, he and Stephanie were going to be telling their parents and the adults that were close to them what was going on. Then they were going to announce it to their fans online. Carlos was a big fan of ScuttleButter and was always taking and ScuttButting them whenever he got the chance. It made him smile whenever he sees their ScuttButts about how he made their day just by acknowledging them or how grateful they were that he and his friends made Big Time Rush. Part of him knew that a lot of fans were going to be disappointed in their news; they were likely to lose a lot of fans because of it. He had seen it happen before, when Justin Bieber started to date Selena Gomez, he lost fans by the thousands and then the two of them started to get death threats. He didn't want that for Stephanie, but he didn't want to lie and act like nothing was going on when their lives were going to change forever in the next few months.

They already started to get some baby stuff, Carlos managed to buy it with his debit card and hide the bill from Mrs. Knight; so she couldn't see what he paid for. Kendall, Logan, and James had helped by grabbing the mail before Mrs. Knight could and taking the packages and hiding it in their rooms. They started to get diapers and clothes and binkies and bottles, but they knew that having to get car seats and more clothes and diapers when the baby started to grow out of it, and finding a place for it to actually live was going to be harder.

Carlos smiled to himself.

On their most recent date, he had suggested to Stephanie, as a joke, that they just hide the baby as well, Carlos could put it in his closet, as Mrs. Knight vowed to never go in there, and they could take turns feeding it and changing it. Due to the incredible amount of pressure they were under, the two of them had laughed long and hard about it. Then the two sat where they were, wrapped in each other's arms. Carlos had his hands on Stephanie's stomach, knowing that there was another life growing in there, his son or daughter. That thought alone, made him smile. He always wanted to have a kid, when he knew he was ready, and hopefully, he was ready. He wasn't sure if they were going to be able to handle it if they gave their baby up for adoption. Stephanie must have felt the same way, they had some sort of a sense of being able to read each other' s minds, for she put her hands on Carlos's and tilted her head back against his chest, her head resting just under his chin.

"You're going to be a great father, Carlos," she whispered.

"And you're going to be a great mother," Carlos whispered back, kissing her on the top of her head before she craned her neck around and he gave her a loving, long kiss on the mouth.

Now here he was, counting down the time until he had to go and possibly give his mother a heart attack.

Carlos sighed and looked at his watch before leaving his room. Kendall, Logan, James, and Katie were sitting in the apartment, playing a video game. When they heard the door open, Kendall, Logan, and James instinctively turned around, falling silent. The three of them knew that Carlos was going to tell everyone today. And while Katie didn't know what was going on, she knew that something was up if they had used more of Gustavo's frequent flier miles to get his mother out of LA.

"Hey Carlos, how are you feeling?" Kendall asked with a warm smile.

Carlos couldn't help but smiled, gratefully, in return. No matter what the situation, Kendall was always the first one to try and make things better. "I'm doing great, considering," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought that you guys were going out."

"We thought that we would stay in and give you support," James replied with a grin.

"I don't know what we're supporting you for," Katie said with a shrug. "But Kendall said that it would be a good idea if I did."

"I told you," Kendall said, slightly impatient. "I'll tell you later."

"Why can't I know _now_?"

Logan ignored the siblings as he looked at Carlos. "I know that I haven't been the most agreeable person these past couple of months, but I do support you and whatever decision you guys come up with." Carlos nodded. "I hope you know that."

"Of course I do," Carlos rolled his eyes. "You're my best friend, Logan. Even if you were acting like a turd."

"I deserve that one," Logan admitted, smiling a little.

"Yeah, you do," James said, pausing in his hysterical laughter. Logan scowled and leaned over to hit him, but James easily overpowered his smarter friend, knocking him to the floor. "What do you think is going to happen?"

"I think that I'm going to be yelled at," Carlos said honestly. "My Mom will probably die, Mrs. Knight will be disappointed, and Mr. King will shoot me." He shrugged. "But then again, I don't know if he even has a gun, so he would probably just beat me to death."

"Good to see you still have as sense of humor about it," James said kindly. "You're going to be fine, bro."

"I know," Carlos nodded. He looked at his watch. "I'll see you guys later, I'm going to go see Steph before…you know." He waved and left the apartment, walking up to the seventh floor to get to Stephanie's.

He opted to walk rather than take the elevator solely for the purpose that it would give him time to figure out exactly what he was going to say. You had to be delicate with news like this, not that it would help much. He was also trying to figure out exactly what the others were going to say. He had earplugs, because he knew that Gustavo was going to be screaming. He even had a pair of headphones to put over Stephanie's stomach, to be sure that the baby didn't hear Gustavo's voice. But Mrs. Knight and Kelly were hard to place. He knew that they would be disappointed, but he wasn't sure if they would be proud, knowing that he was going to step up to be the father to the baby. Or if they were going to be proud to know that he was taking responsibility and being serious with what was going on in his life. He could have easily been one of those guys that just ran away from his problems. But he was tired of people thinking that, of being the one that wasn't taken seriously. That's why it hurt so badly when Logan was reminding Carlos about how serious his predicament was.

How could he _not_ know how serious it was?

Having sex in the first place was a serious step in their relationship (also because many people thought that Logan and Camille were sleeping together, even though Logan reassured them that they weren't). Mrs. Knight had even gone so far as to give them the sex talk again when they had gotten out to LA. She wanted them to be safe, with all of the temptations out there in LA; you never knew what could happen. With how big the boys were getting and all of the female fans that continue to accumulate, they had to be extra careful not to lead any of them on at concerts or meet and greets. He remembered when he first announced that he was dating Stephanie, there were a lot of fans that were mad and sent her death threats. But they got through that, so they could get through this too.

* * *

Stephanie sighed as she looked at her reflection, brushing her hair. She tightly gripped her hairbrush, lowering it from her hair down to her desk. Nervous wasn't the right word that would explain how she was feeling. If there was a word about nervous, than that would be how she felt. She easily concealed her morning sickness from her father by saying that she ate something bad. She could tell that he was a bit skeptical, but that he believed her anyway. She was feeling really badly about lying to him, but at least now she could finally tell him the truth.

Stephanie got up from her desk with a bit of difficulty, finally starting to feel the weight of the baby in her stomach, to straighten up her room. Jo and Camille had come by earlier to keep her company while they waited for Carlos to arrive. The two of them knew that Carlos and Stephanie were going to be telling the adults and their fans what was going on that day and they were going to wait with the others in 2J to figure out what was said.

Stephanie was sure that they would be upset, but there wasn't much that they could do about it; she and Carlos were eighteen so they were able to do what they wanted and it was kind of late to get an abortion at that point, if they changed their mind. Stephanie was terrified at the thought of a miscarriage, and refused to think about it. Even though it wasn't the best time, she wanted to keep the baby, to be sure that it knew that it was loved and not given up. They could handle it with some help and even if her father refused to help her, they could still deal with it.

"Hey Steph," Carlos greeted as he strolled into her room.

Stephanie stopped flapping her pillowcase, trying to move the pillow back down and grinned when she spotted her boyfriend. She always smiled when she saw him, she couldn't help it. "Hey you," she replied, walking (slightly waddling) over to him and giving him a kiss. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Nervous," Carlos replied honestly. He eyed her with concern as she continued to flap the pillowcase again. "Is it safe to do that?"

"As far as I'm concerned, making my bed won't hurt the baby," Stephanie managed to give him a teasing smile before she went back to making up her bed. Carlos moved to her side and gently nudged her out of the way so he could do it. Stephanie sighed softly, resting her hands on her stomach. "I can't believe we're telling them today."

"Well, it's not like we can just run away from home, have the baby, and then come back with it," Carlos pointed out.

"We could," Stephanie nodded. "And I could try and film it." She grinned, getting in on the joke. "And if the people like the story so much, it could be made into a major film."

"And who'd play you?" Carlos asked, turning to her as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I think that Antonio Banderas would play me," he grinned as Stephanie laughed.

"If he plays you, then Hallie Berry has to play me," Stephanie returned.

The two laughed as Carlos finished making up her bed. When he did finish, he picked up the Stuffy Puppy that had been lying down on top of the pillow and squeezed it in his hands. It would be the perfect gift for their baby. They just had to get through the next couple of months and the possible backlash that they were going to get. But as long as they were together, they could get through it.

"What are you thinking about?" Stephanie asked, walking over to Carlos and placing her hands on his cheeks. She gently kissed him on the forehead before rubbing her thumb against his cheek.

"I was just thinking about baby names, "Carlos said after a moment, lifting her eyes to his. "I mean, we're going to need some when the baby is born; we can't just keep calling her 'Baby's the whole time."

"Her?" Stephanie looked amused. "What makes you think it's a girl."

"I just know," Carlos said with a warm smile.

"Carlos, I hate it break it to you, but he could be a boy," Stephanie reminded her boyfriend.

"No," Carlos reached up and held onto Stephanie's hands. "She's going to be a girl, I can tell." He held onto her hands tightly. "She's going to be our daughter and we're going to be the best parents and take care of her very well." He paused. "And she's not dating until she's eighteen." He added sharply.

Stephanie tilted her head back and laughed.

And then Carlos did something that made Stephanie smile with pride.

He bent down and gently rubbed her stomach before kissing it gently.

"I love you," he whispered.

* * *

**A/N: **I've changed my mind to the plot of this story, like, five times. First, it was going to be about Carlos and Stephanie having a baby, but then I realized that it was about showing Carlos as a character that could be serious and not so goofy all the time. So that's why this story is going to end in the next chapter, though there will be a short epilogue.

I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Cheers,

-Riles


	8. Chapter 8

**.:Chapter Seven:.**

* * *

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm about to tell my mother that I got a girl pregnant," Carlos said to himself as he and Stephanie walked hand-in-hand back to apartment 2J.

"Hey," Stephanie nudged Carlos on the arm. "I'm not 'a girl'," she gave him a teasing smile, which faded quickly. "I'm your girlfriend, and I'm going to support you through this." She let out a sigh as she looked at the ground.

"Aren't you going to need some support?" Carlos reminded her.

"Probably not," Stephanie replied. She lifted her head and looked at Carlos. "My Dad is going to be very angry that I lied to him and then…well…he's gonna tell my Mom, since she couldn't get out here." She shrugged. "Then she's going to tell my brother, who will either kill your or just be very mad." Carlos gulped loudly. "And then we're going to tell our fans, so…I'm sure to get some 'slut' remarks with that, so I know everything that's going to come my way." She let go of his hand and wrapped it around his waist. "You don't know how Gustavo, Mrs. Knight, your mom or Kelly is going to react." She reminded him.

"I told you before," Carlos managed a smile. "Mom is probably going to keel over and die from a heart attack, and then Gustavo is going to just scream and yell." He shrugged. "Maybe if he yells loud enough then we don't have to worry about telling our fans."

Stephanie laughed and reached up, kissing him on the cheek. Carlos gave her a curious look, but then smiled and gave her a kiss back, putting his arm around her shoulders and holding onto her tightly. They were going to need each other, to get this over with.

They reached the apartment and Carlos reached out, grabbing onto the doorknob and opening the door. Mrs. Knight, Kelly, Gustavo, Mrs. Garcia, and Mr. King all turned at the sound and watched as the two teenagers walked into the apartment. Carlos gulped once more when he realized that all eyes were on him and Stephanie.

"Where are the guys and Katie?" Stephanie whispered as the two walked over to the orange couch.

"Standing behind the wall listening to hear what's going on," Carlos whispered back. "We do that every time that someone comes over and Mrs. Knight tells us to leave the room."

"I didn't know you guys were eavesdroppers," Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Maybe I should keep that in mind the next time us girls want to talk without you guys around."

Carlos managed a smile, but then it faded when he looked over at Mr. King. The man had always been so easy-going, so laid back, always joking with Carlos when he came by to hang out in 7K or to take Stephanie o a date. He had always been very accepting of Carlos, after Stephanie had come back from the dance and told him about how much fun they had at the dance together. Carlos had expected him to be like most fathers, threatening him with a shotgun and bodily harm if he ever did anything to hurt Stephanie. But Mr. King had practically thrown money into Carlos's hand and told him to make sure that Stephanie had a good time (within reason). From what Stephanie said, it was because her father trusted Carlos from everything that Stephanie had told her father about him.

Now he was about to drop a bombshell.

He wanted to do nothing but pass out or die.

Anything that would keep him from having to say what he was going to say.

"Dog, speak," Gustavo snapped after a few moments of silence. "Kelly and I have a lot of work to do on your next album, so we can't sit here all day playing guessing games."

"Uh," Carlos rubbed the back of his neck, letting go of Stephanie's hand. He immediately missed the warmth and comfort of her touch. "Well, we have something…really important that we need to tell you all." He said slowly.

He suddenly started to break out in a sweat, little droplets appearing on his forehead. His hands started to shake and his heart felt like it was going to explode. Stephanie must have noticed, she took a step forward, pushing Carlos behind her, turning to her father.

"Before you get angry," she said slowly. "I want you to know that I love Carlos with all of my heart and that don't think that I can picture myself with anyone else." She took a breath. "I know that you say that I'm too young to know what being in love is, but I really do love him."

"And…and I love her," Carlos managed to croak, looking like he was going to faint. "I love her so much; sometimes I don't know what I would do without her."

"Honey," Mrs. Knight said slowly. "What is it that you want to tell us?" Carlos looked over at her and immediately felt comforted. She always had the way of making anyone, even if she weren't their own mother, feel better. She knew how to adapt to the way that someone else lived to make them feel comforted and that was definitely something that Carlos needed right now.

"Steph's…Stephanie's pregnant," Carlos said slowly, his eyes moving around the room. "We're going to have a baby."

Mrs. Garcia broke into tears almost immediately. They slowly started to roll down her cheeks, and then she was in full-blown hysterics, her hands over her eyes and crying so hard that her shoulders were shaking. Kelly's mouth dropped open and Mrs. Knight's eyes widened. Mr. King, on the other hand, didn't move from the position that he had been sitting in. He just continued to stare at his daughter and her boyfriend.

Gustavo was the only one that reacted in the same way that they had thought.

"WHAT?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING! YOU CAN'T BE PREGNANT!" Carlos could faintly hear Katie's gasps and Kendall, Logan, and James shushing her from around the corner. It was faintly heard over Gustavo's continued ranting. "YOU CAN'T BE THAT STUPID!"

"Gustavo," Kelly said firmly. "Don't call them names because they made a mistake," She reached out and grabbed onto Gustavo's shoulder. "And please calm down; you don't want your blood pressure to sky rocket again."

Gustavo crossed his arms over his chest, his face still red and breathing heavily.

"Daddy?" Stephanie asked, turning to her father. "You haven't said anything," she pointed out. She slowly walked over to him, reaching out and holding onto his hands, studying his face. She could see that he was trying hard not to believe what she had just said, but she knew that she was telling the truth. Stephanie quietly nodding, tightening her grip on her father's hand. "It's true Daddy," she whispered, then moved his hand onto her protruding stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Mr. King gently rubbed his daughter's stomach before putting his hands back in his lap. "How could-"

"YOU BE SO STUPID?!" Gustavo started to yell again. "Have you even thought about the repercussions of your actions?" He leapt to his feet and started to scream right into Carlos's face. "Do you know how badly this is going to reflect on your band? I don't know why, but your fans seem o think that you're squeaky clean guys, it's going to take a miracle to get the gossip on this to stop."

Carlos held up a hand, wanting to say something, but his mother cut him off.

"How could you not tell me this mijo?" She asked tearfully. "You had me come all the way out from Minnesota to tell me that my baby is going to have a baby?" She took a tissue out of her purse and started to wipe at her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mami," Carlos sincerely apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt you like this."

"You hurt a _lot_ of people," Gustavo continued. "Have you ever-"

"HEY!" Mrs. Knight leapt to her feet, causing Gustavo to finally fall silent. "Ok, I think by now they know that this is a really big mistake," she said. She turned to Carlos and Stephanie, who both nodded in reply. "But I know them well enough to know that they aren't going to run from their problems and that they are responsible enough to figure out what to do on their own." Once again, the two nodded.

"We thought about getting an abortion," Stephanie said, speaking mostly to her father. "But I couldn't do it; it wasn't something that I believed in."

"What about adoption?" Mrs. Garcia asked, still wiping at her eyes. Her sobs had quieted down, but she was still silently crying.

"We talked about that as well," Carlos said slowly. He knew that what he was going to say, they would be skeptical about it. But they had gone this far, they could keep going and say everything that they wanted to say. "And because Stephanie already five months pregnant-"he waited for Gustavo to stop choking, knowing that his music producer was thinking about how long they had kept the secret. "We've decided that we're going to keep the baby."

"Are you sure?" Kelly asked, doubtfully. "You two are still really young, what makes you think that you can handle having a baby this young." She waved a hand at Carlos. "Especially with your career."

"We thought it out, mostly," Carlos admitted. "While I'm still here in LA, I'll be going to school and working on our music like usual; making as much money as I can. And when needed, I can use my debit card to get some baby things."

"And if he is ever on tour, he's going to try and schedule it so that he can come back if he needs to," Stephanie added. "But since you haven't made any new music lately, we figured that some of the shows that you could potentially do will be close enough so that he can help me when I need it."

"I swear, I'm going to be there for her every step of the way through this thing," Carlos said to Mr. King, who nodded slowly. "I have been so far and I'm not going to stop."

"What are you going to do if you're out of town and she goes into labor?" Kelly asked. "It's not like you can cut short what you're doing to go to her."

"Yes, I can," Carlos said incredulously.

"Carlos, your fans-"

"Our real fans will understand that I'm taking responsibility for something that I had a big part in," Carlos interrupted her. "I mean, no disrespect Kelly, but I've already thought about all of this and I've decided that we're going to tell our fans after we told you guys, so there's no rumors or gossip going around. Then we'll just keep going day by day after that."

"Daddy?" Stephanie turned back to her father. "What do you think? I'd be glad if you could help me if I ever need it," she bowed her head. "But I'd understand it if you don't."

Mr. King stood up from his space on the couch and held onto his daughter's shoulders as he tilted her chin up so he could look at her. He studied her for a few moments, his eyes searching hers, before he took a deep breath. He shook his head slightly and then opened and closed his mouth a few times. When he finally figured out what he was going to say, he cleared his throat.

"Stephanie, you're my only daughter," he said in a low voice. "And while I am very disappointed in the way things have turned out, I'm not going to drop you or kick you out. I would never be able to live with myself if I did." Stephanie gave a small smile. "You're my daughter and I love you and I'm going to help you to the best of my abilities."

Stephanie started to cry of happiness as she wrapped her arms around her father's waist, pressing her cheek against his chest. "I love you too, Daddy." She said.

Carlos winced, his shoulders going up to his ears when he noticed that his mother had locked her gaze on him and had gotten up off of the couch. She slowly walked over to Carlos, her eyes still on her son. Carlos gave her a half smile, giving a nervous chuckle when she reached him. But to his surprise, she reached out and gently rubbed his cheek.

"I'm never going to forgive you for making me a grandmother when I'm this young," She said quietly. When Carlos gave her a confused look, she gave him a sharp one in reply, causing him to nod. "Like I said, I'm too young to be a grandmother, but I'm going to love that grandchild more than I can say." She started to cry again.

"Don't cry, Mami," Carlos reached out and wiped her cheeks. "I promise that I'm going to make your proud."

"You already do, mijo," Mrs. Garcia replied.

Gustavo rolled his eyes as he leapt to his feet. He muttered something under his breath as he stomped over towards the front door. He ripped open the door to the apartment before slamming it shut behind him. He closed the door so hard that it sent a shockwave around the room, breaking the glass on the refrigerator doors. Carlos's shoulders slumped at Gustavo's reaction. He didn't think that Gustavo was going to take it well, but he didn't think that he was going to storm out. Carlos looked over at Kelly and was surprised to see that she looked just as angry as Gustavo was. It really hurt him to see the disappointed look on her face. Even when she was sucked into whatever plan that Kendall had or whatever scheme that James and Carlos came up with…or the kind of chaos that the four boys managed to get into, she was never angry or disappointed about their antics. But now, it seemed like she was starting to wonder how Gustavo could put up with them.

"Kelly," he started.

"Carlos, you should really think about how this is going to affect everyone," Kelly said as she got up from the couch. "Not just you and Stephanie, but the other guys too." She then turned on her heel and followed Gustavo out of the apartment.

Stephanie reached over and grabbed onto Carlos's hand. She had never seen her boyfriend so miserable, not even when he was being bossed around by the Jennifers to be three separate dates for their first dance at the PalmWoods. Stephanie smiled to herself. That night was their first date, and they had been close ever since. She remembered how excited she was when he first asked her out, officially. She was starting to think that she was going to have to do it, because she was the one that had asked him to be her date to the dance and she was the one that had asked him to hang out with her a couple of times, hoping that she could hint to him that she liked him. She had even gone to Jo and Camille to see if she was doing anything wrong, as they were much more girly than she was. When the two had reassured her that she was fine, she then went to James, Kendall, and Logan to get a guys perspective. James said that she should wait for Carlos to ask her out, Kendall said that she should just go ahead and ask him, and Logan was the only one that was indecisive about the whole thing. (But as James explained it, Logan had never been in a relationship before so he wasn't going to be helpful).

Now here they were; her father and his mother were accepting of their situation. They still weren't exactly sure about Mrs. Knight, but assumed that she was at least proud that he was taking responsibility for it, and Gustavo and Kelly were beyond angry and disappointed.

As far as she was concerned, as long as she wasn't kicked out of her house, things were fine.

Now all they had to do was tell their fans.

"When is your next appointment?" Mr. King asked his daughter.

"In a couple of weeks," Stephanie said with a sigh. "We're going to learn the sex of the baby at that appointment." She lifted her head and looked at her father. "Are you sure that you're going to be ok with this?" She asked.

"I'm always going to see you as my little girl, and knowing that my little girl is going to have a little baby is going to be hard for me to get used to," Mr. King said honestly. He then spoke to Carlos. "But as long as I know that you love her as much as you do and that you're going to be there for her, then I know that she's in capable hands."

He held out a hand.

Carlos looked at it, startled, before reaching out and taking it in his, shaking it firmly.

He let out a sigh of relief as he looked over at his mother, who was smiling with pride at her son, to Mrs. Knight, who was giving a small smile as well. He was glad that they had their support and while Gustavo and Kelly were mad at him at this moment in time, he knew that they were going to have their support as well. Eventually.

Even if everyone was mad at him at that moment, he didn't care. As long as he had Stephanie and their baby, things were going to be fine.

**THE END**

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**A/N: **Now all that's left is an epilogue. I hope you guys enjoyed the story, thank you so much for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting it! See you at my next upload and at my current stories!

Cheers,

-Riles


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